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Educate Your Children To Self-control, To The Habit Of Holding Passion And Prejudice And Evil Tendencies Subject To An Upright And Reasoning Will, And You Have Done Much To Abolish Misery From Their Future And Crimes From Society.

-Benjamin Franklin

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Educate Your Children To

Benjamin Franklin

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Educate Your Children To Self-control, To The Habit Of Holding Passion And Prejudice And Evil Tendencies Subject To An Upright And Reasoning Will, And You Have Done Much To Abolish Misery From Their Future And Crimes From Society.

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In Rivers And Bad Governments The Lightest Things Swim At Top.

Most Men Die From The Neck Up At Age Twenty-five Because They Stop Dreaming.

Inspirational Life

One Of The Greatest Tragedies Of Life Is The Murder Of A Beautiful Theory By A Gang Of Brutal Facts.

Keep Thy Shop, And Thy Shop Will Keep Thee.

I Am What I Am And That's All That I Am And If I'm Supposed To Be Somebody Else, Why Do I Look Like Me?

Since Thou Are Not Sure Of A Minute, Throw Not Away An Hour.

Order - Let All Your Things Have Their Places; Let Each Part Of Your Business Have Its Time.

Moral Perfection

Time Is An Herb That Cures All Diseases.

I Didn't Fail The Test, I Just Found 100 Ways To Do It Wrong.

Ambition Has Its Disappointments To Sour Us, But Never The Good Fortune To Satisfy Us.

Men Take More Pains To Mask Than Mend.

Nature Performs The Cure, The Physician Takes The Fee.

I Have Met The Enemy, And It Is The Eyes Of Other People.

A Man Of Knowledge Like A Rich Soil, Feeds If Not A World Of Corn, A World Of Weeds.

Ill Customs And Bad Advice Are Seldom Forgotten.

An Episcopalian Divine Once Told The Pope That The Only Difference Between Their Denominations Was That "the Church Of Rome Is Infallible And The Church Of England Is Never In The Wrong."

Beer Is God's Way Of Telling Us That He Loves Us And Wants Us To Be Happy.

Don't Throw Stones At Your Neighbors, If Your Own Windows Are Glass.

Pride Is As Loud A Beggar As Want, And A Great Deal More Saucy. When You Have Bought One Fine Thing, You Must Buy Ten More, That Your Appearance May Be All Of A Piece; But It Is Easier To Suppress The First Desire Than To Satisfy All That Follow It.

Only A Virtuous People Are Capable Of Freedom.

If You Want To Be Rich, Think Of The Savings And Get Them.

Let No Pleasure Tempt Thee, No Profit Allure Thee, No Persuasion Move Thee, To Do Anything Which Thou Knowest To Be Evil; So Shalt Thou Always Live Jollity; For A Good Conscience Is A Continual Christmas.

Many Have Been Ruined By Buying Good Pennyworths.

Christians Are Directed To Have Faith In Christ, As The Effectual Means Of Obtaining The Change They Desire.

Energy And Persistence Conquer All Things.

Historians Relate Not So Much What Is Done As What They Would Have Believed.

The Discontented Man Finds No Easy Chair.

There's No Gain, Without Pain.

Let Our Fathers And Grandfathers Be Valued For Their Goodness, Ourselves For Our Own.

Creditors Are A Superstitious Sect, Great Observers Of Set Days And Times.

An Investment In Knowledge Pays The Best Interest.

None But The Well-bred Man Knows How To Confess A Fault, Or Acknowledge Himself In An Error.

By My Rambling Digressions I Perceive Myself To Be Growing Old.

I Am The Laziest Man In The World. I Invented All Those Things To Save Myself From Toil.

Great Hopes Make Everything Great Possible

He That Goes A Borrowing Goes A Sorrowing.

Debt By Founding Fathers

On Second Thought, It's A Good Thing Love Is Blind Otherwise It Would See Too Much.

It Is Much Easier To Suppress A First Desire Than To Satisfy Those That Follow.

Wine Makes Daily Living Easier, Less Hurried With Fewer Tensions And More Tolerance.

Sell Not Virtue To Purchase Wealth, Nor Liberty To Purchase Power.

In America, They Do Not Inquire Of A Stranger, "what Is He?" But, "what Can He Do?"

If You Want To Be Loved, Love And Be Loveable.

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed!

Friendship Memories

Doing Your Best Means Never Stop Trying.

If You Ride A Horse, Sit Close And Tight, If You Ride A Man, Sit Easy And Light.

God Grant, That Not Only The Love Of Liberty, But A Thorough Knowledge Of The Rights Of Man, May Pervade All The Nations Of The Earth, So That A Philosopher May Set His Foot Anywhere On Its Surface, And Say, 'this Is My Country.'

He That Sells Upon Credit Expects To Lose 5 Per Cent. By Bad Debts; Therefore He Charges, On All He Sells Upon Credit, An Advance That Shall Make Up That Deficiency.

If This Lady Is Pleased To Spend Her Days With Franklin, He Would Be Just As Pleased To Spend His Nights With Her.

It Is Better To Take Many Injuries Than To Give One.

It Is Very Imprudent To Deprive America Of Any Of Her Privileges. If Her Commerce And Friendship Are Of Any Importance To You, They Are To Be Had On No Other Terms Than Leaving Her In The Full Enjoyment Of Her Rights.

Religion I Found To Be Without Any Tendency To Inspire, Promote, Or Confirm Morality, Serves Principally To Divide Us And Make Us Unfriendly To One Another.

A Man Must Have A Good Deal Of Vanity Who Believes, And A Good Deal Of Boldness Who Affirms, That All The Doctrines He Holds Are True, And All He Rejects Are False.

There Are Three Sorts Of People In The World: Those Who Are Immovable, People Who Don't Get It, Or Don't Want To Do Anything About It; There Are People Who Are Movable, People Who See The Need For Change And Are Prepared To Listen To It; And There Are People Who Move, People Who Make Things Happen.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It.

Don't Think So Much Of Your Own Cunning, As To Forget Other Men's; A Cunning Man Is Overmatched By A Cunning Man And A Half.

I Am On This Account Not Displeased That The Figure Is Not Known As A Bald Eagle, But Looks More Like A Turkey. For The Truth The Turkey Is In Comparison A Much More Respectable Bird, And Withal A True Original Native Of America... He Is Besides, Though A Little Vain & Silly, A Bird Of Courage, And Would Not Hesitate To Attack A Grenadier Of The British Guards Who Should Presume To Invade His Farm Yard With A Red Coat On.

Make No Expense But To Do Good To Others Or Yourself.

Moral Perfection

Men And Melons Are Hard To Know.

A Fine Genius In His Own Country Is Like Gold In The Mine.

But They Have Two Other Rights; Those Of Sitting When They Please, And As Long As They Please, In Which Methinks They Have The Advantage Of Your Parliament; For They Cannot Be Dissolved By The Breath Of A Minister, Or Sent Packing As You Were The Other Day, When It Was Your Earnest Desire To Have Remained Longer Together.

A Virtuous And Industrious People May Be Cheaply Governed.

I Am For Doing Good To The Poor, But I Differ In Opinion About The Means. I Think The Best Way Of Doing Good To The Poor Is Not Making Them Easy In Poverty, But Leading Or Driving Them Out Of It.

A Ship Under Sail And A Big-bellied Woman, Are The Handsomest Two Things That Can Be Seen Common.

Lend Money To An Enemy, And Thou Will Gain Him, To A Friend And Thou Will Lose Him.

In Free Governments The Rulers Are The Servants, And The People Their Superiors And Sovereigns.

That Man Alone Loves Himself Rightly Who Procures The Greatest Possible Good To Himself Through The Whole Of His Existence And So Pursues Pleasure As Not To Give For It More Than It Is Worth.

Those Who Are Content Have Enough; Those That Complain, Have Too Much.

Idleness Is The Dead Sea That Swallows All Virtues

All The Heavenly Bodies, The Stars And Planets, Are Regulated With The Utmost Wisdom! And Can We Suppose Less Care To Be Taken In The Order Of The Moral Than In The Natural System?

The Doors Of Wisdom Are Never Shut.

Those Who Would Give Up Essential Liberty, To Purchase A Little Temporary Safety, Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety.

It's Better To Swim In The Sea Below Than To Swing In The Air And Feed The Crow, Says Jolly Ned Teach Of Bristol.

Half The Truth Is Often A Great Lie.

Want Of Care Does Us More Damage Than Want Of Knowledge

If Your Riches Are Yours, Why Don't You Take Them With You To The Other World?

An Iron Rod Being Placed On The Outside Of A Building From The Highest Part Continued Down Into The Moist Earth, In Any Direction Strait Or Crooked, Following The Form Of The Roof Or Other Parts Of The Building, Will Receive The Lightning At Its Upper End, Attracting It So As To Prevent It's Striking Any Other Part; And, Affording It A Good Conveyance Into The Earth, Will Prevent Its Damaging Any Part Of The Building.

In Success Be Moderate. Humility Makes Great Men Twice Honourable.

In Short, The Way To Wealth, If You Desire It, Is As Plain As The Way To Market. It Depends Chiefly On Two Works, Industry And Frugality.

Observe All Men, Thyself Most.

Self Observation

A Man Is Not Completely Born Until He Is Dead.

Where Sense Is Wanting, Everything Is Wanting.

Here Is My Creed. I Believe In One God, Creator Of The Universe. That He Governs It By His Providence. That He Ought To Be Worshiped. That The Most Acceptable Service We Render Him Is Doing Good To His Other Children. That The Soul Of Man Is Immortal, And Will Be Treated With Justice In Another Life Respecting Its Conduct In This.

When The Well Is Dry, We Know The Worth Of Water.

He That Is Rich Need Not Live Sparingly, And He That Can Live Sparingly Need Not Be Rich.

Anger And Folly Walk Cheeck By Jowl.

Our Necessities Never Equal Our Wants.

To Succeed, Jump As Quickly At Opportunities As You Do At Conclusions.

When I See Nothing Annihilated, And Not Even A Drop Of Water Wasted, I Cannot Suspect The Annihilation Of Souls Thus Finding Myself To Exist In The World, I Believe I Shall, In Some Shape Or Other, Always Exist; With All The Inconveniences Human Life Is Liable To, I Shall Not Object To A New Edition Of Mine; Hoping, However, That The Errata Of The Last May Be Corrected.

The Most Trifling Actions That Affect A Man's Credit Are To Be Regarded. The Sound Of Your Hammer At Five In The Morning, Or At Nine At Night, Heard By A Creditor, Makes Him Easy Six Months Longer; But If He Sees You At The Billiard-table, Or Hears Your Voice At A Tavern, When You Should Be At Work, He Sends For His Money The Next Day.

Pardoning The Bad, Is Injuring The Good.

1) Temperance... Drink Not To Elevation. (2) Silence... Avoid Trifling Conversations. (3) Order: Let All Your Things Have Their Places... (4) Resolution... Perform Without Fail What You Resolve. (5) Frugality... I.e. Waste Nothing. (6) Industry: Lose No Time; Be Always Employ'd... (7) Sincerity: Use No Hurtful Deceit; Think Innocently... (8) Justice: Wrong None By Doing Injuries... (9) Moderation: Avoid Extremes; Forbear Resenting... (10) Cleanliness: Tolerate No Uncleanliness In Body... (11) Tranquility: Be Not Disturbed At Trifles... (12) Chastity (13) Humility : Imitate Jesus.

Poverty Often Deprives A Man Of All Spirit And Virtue; It Is Hard For An Empty Bag To Stand Upright.

If You Do Tomorrow What You Did Today , You Will Get Tomorrow What You Got Today

A Word To The Wise Is Enough, And Many Words Won't Fill A Bushel.

He That Can Have Patience Can Have What He Will.

Virtue May Not Always Make A Face Handsome, But Vice Will Certainly Make It Ugly.

Never Ruin An Apology With An Excuse.

He That's Content Hath Enough.

Do Good To Thy Friend To Keep Him, To Thy Enemy To Gain Him.

Interest Which Blinds Some People, Enlightens Others.

What Is Best For People Is What They Do For Themselves.

He That Is Good For Making Excuses Is Seldom Good For Anything Else.

Vice Knows She Is Ugly, So Puts On Her Mask.

Despair Ruins Some, Presumption Many.

Take The Money In Your Wallet And Invest It In Your Mind. And In Return, Your Mind Will Fill Up Your Wallet!

Reader, I Wish Thee Health, Wealth, Happiness, And May Kind Heaven Thy Year's Industry Bless.

Wish Not So Much To Live Long As To Live Well.

Those Things That Hurt, Instruct.

Fart For Freedom, Fart For Liberty—and Fart Proudly.

Rich Widows Are The Only Secondhand Goods That Sell At First-class Prices.

The Art Of Acting Consists In Keeping People From Coughing.

There Is Much Difference Between Imitating A Good Man And Counterfeiting Him.

Constant Dropping Wears Away Stones

If I Could See One Live Show Before I Died, I'd See Lucy Angel

Thou Can'st Not Joke An Enemy Into A Friend, But Thou May'st A Friend Into An Enemy.

I Imagine It Great Vanity In Me To Suppose That The Supremely Perfect Does In The Least Regard Such An Inconsiderable Nothing As Man. More Especially, Since It Is Impossible For Me To Have Any Positive, Clear Idea Of That Which Is Infinite And Incomprehensible, I Cannot Conceive Otherwise Than That He, The Infinite Father, Expects Or Requires No Worship Or Praise From Us, But That He Is Even Infinitely Above It.

War Is When The Government Tells You Who The Bad Guy Is. Revolution Is When You Decide That For Yourself.

The First Degree Of Folly, Is To Conceit One's Self Wise; The Second To Profess It; The Third To Despise Counsel.

Let All Men Know Thee, But No Man Know Thee Thoroughly: Men Freely Ford That See The Shallows.

It Takes Many Good Deeds To Build A Good Reputation, And Only One Bad One To Lose It.

The King's Cheese Is Half Wasted In Parings: But No Matter, 'tis Made Of The People's Milk.

The Only Time A Question Should Be Asked Is When All Other Possibilities Of Finding The Answer For Yourself Have Been Eliminated.

And Where Is The Prince Who Can Afford To So Cover His Country With Troops For Its Defense, As That Ten Thousand Men Descending From The Clouds, Might Not In Many Places Do An Infinite Deal Of Mischief, Before A Force Could Be Brought Together To Repel Them?

If You Watch Your Pennies, The Pounds Will Take Care Of Themselves.

Nothing Is So Tiresome To One's Self, As Well As So Odious To Others, As Disguise And Affectation.

Avoid Dishonest Gain: No Price Can Recompence The Pangs Of Vice.

But In This World Nothing Is Sure But Death And Taxes. [fr., Mais Dons Ce Monde, Il N'y A Rien D'assure Que Le Mort Et Les Impots.]

An Investment In Education Always Pays The Highest Returns.

Forewarn'd, Forearm'd.

He That Would Travel Much, Should Eat Little.

Don't Overload Gratitude; If You Do, She'll Kick.

If You Would Persuade, You Must Appeal To Interest Rather Than Intellect.

Silence Is Not Always A Sign Of Wisdom, But Babbling Is Ever A Mark Of Folly.

Would You Live With Ease, Do What You Ought, And Not What You Please.

Do Not Anticipate Trouble, Or Worry About What May Never Happen. Keep In The Sunlight.

Hunger Is The Best Pickle.

Prodigality Of Time Produces Poverty Of Mind As Well As Of Estate.

The Golden Age Was Never The Present Age.

Man Will Ultimately Be Governed By God Or By Tyrants.

I've Striven My Whole Life For Humility, But If I'd Ever Achieved It, I'd Probably Be Pretty Damn Proud Of That.

The Longer I Live The More Convinced I Become That God Governs In The Affairs Of Men. And Have We Now Forgotten That Powerful Friend? Or Do We Imagine We No Longer Need His Assistance.

Joy Doesn't Exist In The World, It Exists In Us.

God Will Certainly Reward Virtue And Punish Vice, Either Here Or Hereafter.

Poverty Wants Some Things, Luxury Many Things, Avarice All Things

He That Resolves To Mend Hereafter, Resolves Not To Mend Now.

It Is The Man And Woman United That Makes The Complete Human Being. Separate She Lacks His Force Of Body And Strength Of Reason; He Her Softness, Sensibility And Acute Discernment. Together They Are Most Likely To Succeed In The World.

Experience Keeps A Dear School, But Fools Will Learn In No Other.

Moderation In All Things - Including Moderation.

All Wars Are Follies, Very Expensive And Very Mischievous Ones. In My Opinion, There Never Was A Good War Or A Bad Peace. When Will Mankind Be Convinced And Agree To Settle Their Difficulties By Arbitration?

Tricks And Treachery Are The Practice Of Fools, That Don't Have Brains Enough To Be Honest.

The Grand Leap Of The Whale Up The Fall Of Niagara Is Esteemed, By All Who Have Seen It, As One Of The Finest Spectacles In Nature.

A Good Spouse And Health Is A Person's Best Wealth.

Are You Angry That Others Disappoint You? Remember You Cannot Depend Upon Yourself.

Savages We Call Them, Because Their Manners Differ From Ours, Which We Think The Perfection Of Civility; They Think The Same Of Theirs.

One Of The Advantages Of Being A 'reasonable Creature' Is That One Can Find A Reason For Whatever One Wants To Do.

Industry Pays Debts, While Despair Increases Them.

Happiness Consists More In Small Conveniences Or Pleasures That Occur Every Day, Than In Great Pieces Of Good Fortune That Happen But Seldom To A Man In The Course Of His Life.

It Is Observable That God Has Often Called Men To Places Of Dignity And Honor When They Have Been Busy In The Honest Employment Of Their Vocation.

Love And Toothache Have Many Cures, But None Infallible, Except Possession And Dispossession.

Applause Waits On Success.

Congratulations

There Are Three Faithful Friends - An Old Wife, An Old Dog, And Ready Money.

Many Complain Of Their Memory, Few Of Their Judgment.

God Helps Them That Help Themselves.

While The Path To Wealth Is Clearly Marked, Few Are Willing To Adapt Themselves To The Modest Discipline That The Journey Requires. Instead, Most Choose The Shinier Track Of Debt-driven Consumption, Which They Find Further Along Is Covered In Vines And Thorns.

If Time Be Of All Things The Most Precious, Wasting Time Must Be, As Poor Richard Says, “the Greatest Prodigality'; Since, As He Elsewhere Tells Us, 'lost Time Is Never Found Again'; And 'what We Call Time Enough Always Proves Little Enough'. Let Us Then Up And Be Doing, And Doing To The Purpose; So By Diligence Shall We Do More With Less Perplexity.

If You Teach A Poor Young Man To Shave Himself, And Keep His Razor In Order, You May Contribute More To The Happiness Of His Life Than In Giving Him A Thousand Guineas. This Sum May Be Soon Spent, The Regret Only Remaining Of Having Foolishly Consumed It; But In The Other Case, He Escapes The Frequent Vexation Of Waiting For Barbers, And Of Their Sometimes Dirty Fingers, Offensive Breaths, And Dull Razors.

He's A Fool Who Cannot Conceal His Wisdom.

Creditors Have Better Memories Than Debtors.

You Can Not Pluck Roses Without Fear Of Thorns, Nor Enjoy A Fair Wife Without Danger Of Horns.

Why Should Pennsylvania, Founded By The English, Become A Colony Of Aliens, Who Will Shortly Be So Numerous As To Germanize Us Instead Of Our Anglifying Them, And Will Never Adopt Our Language Or Customs, Any More Than They Can Acquire Our Complexion.

Let The Experiment Be Made.

I Say It Is Impossible That So Sensible A People [citizens Of Paris], Under Such Circumstances, Should Have Lived So Long By The Smoky, Unwholesome, And Enormously Expensive Light Of Candles, If They Had Really Known That They Might Have Had As Much Pure Light Of The Sun For Nothing.

Remember, Sir, That [england] Began The Slave Trade!

The Way To Wealth Depends On Just Two Words, Industry And Frugality.

Men Differ Daily About Things Which Are Subject To Sense, Is It Likely Then They Should Agree About Things Invisible.

Men Are Subject To Various Inconveniences Merely Through Lack Of A Small Share Of Courage, Which Is A Quality Very Necessary In The Common Occurrences Of Life, As Well As In A Battle. How Many Impertinences Do We Daily Suffer With Great Uneasiness, Because We Have Not Courage Enough To Discover Our Dislike.

The Tongue Offends And The Ears Get The Cuffing

We Are Spirits. That Bodies Should Be Lent Us While They Afford Us Pleasure, Assist Us In Acquiring Knowledge Or In Doing Good To Our Fellow-creatures, Is A Kind Of Benevolent Act Of God. When They Become Unfit For These Purposes And Afford Us Pain Instead Of Pleasure, Instead Of An Aid Become An Encumbrance And Answer None Of These Intentions For Which They Were Given, It Is Equally Kind And Benevolent That A Way Is Provided By Which We Get Rid Of Them. Death Is That Way.

Death Is A Fisherman, The World We See His Fish-pond Is, And We The Fishes Be; His Net Some General Sickness; Howe'er He Is Not So Kind As Other Fishers Be; For If They Take One Of The Smaller Fry, They Throw Him In Again, He Shall Not Die: But Death Is Sure To Kill All He Can Get, And All Is Fish With Him That Comes To Net.

We Must Not In The Course Of Public Life Expect Immediate Approbation And Immediate Grateful Acknowledgment Of Our Services. But Let Us Persevere Through Abuse And Even Injury. The Internal Satisfaction Of A Good Conscience Is Always Present, And Time Will Do Us Justice In The Minds Of The People, Even Those At Present The Most Prejudiced Against Us.

Force Shites Upon Reason's Back.

One Day Is Worth A Thousand Tomorrows.

If You Wouldn't Live Long, Live Well; For Folly And Wickedness Shorten Life.

A Lonely Man On A Rainy Night Who Cannot Read.

[it Was] The Poverty Caused By The Bad Influence Of The English Bankers On The Parliament Which Has Caused In The Colonies Hatred Of The English And . . . The Revolutionary War.

The Things Of This World Take Up Too Much Of My Time, Of Which Indeed I Have Too Little Left, To Undertake Anything Like A Reformation In Religion.

What Is A Butterfly? At Best He's But A Caterpiller Drest. The Gaudy Fop's His Picture Just.

And As To The Cares, They Are Chiefly What Attend The Bringing Up Of Children; And I Would Ask Any Man Who Has Experienced It, If They Are Not The Most Delightful Cares In The World; And If From That Particular Alone, He Does Not Find The Bliss Of A Double State Much Greater, Instead Of Being Less Than He Expected.

The Sting Of A Reproach, Is The Truth Of It.

Two Passions Have Powerful Influence On The Affairs Of Men: The Love Of Power And The Love Of Money.

The Handshake Of The Host Affects The Taste Of The Roast

An Autobiography Usually Reveals Nothing Bad About Its Writer Except His Memory.

Strict Punctuality Is A Cheap Virtue.

Guests, Like Fish, Begin To Smell After Three Days.

There Are Two Ways Of Being Happy: We Must Either Diminish Our Wants Or Augment Our Means - Either May Do - The Result Is The Same And It Is For Each Man To Decide For Himself And To Do That Which Happens To Be Easier.

If We Do Not Hang Together, We Shall Surely Hang Separately.

A Nod From A Lord Is A Breakfast For A Fool.

Half-wits Talk Much, But Say Little.

What Signifies Knowing The Names, If You Know Not The Natures Of Things.

That Is Simple. In The Colonies We Issue Our Own Money. It Is Called Colonial Scrip. We Issue It In Proper Proportion To The Demands Of Trade And Industry To Make The Products Pass Easily From The Producers To The Consumers. In This Manner Creating For Ourselves Our Own Paper Money, We Control Its Purchasing Power, And We Have No Interest To Pay.

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